Drew Forest and Macquarie Island, don’t let history repeat

By COLIN MILLER- RADEST Commentary, Madison Eagle., May 1, 2025

 Macquarie Island is a small island, hidden in the vast seas between New Zealand and Antarctica. In the bygone days of sail, the island was prized as an ideal site for seal hunting. Now it is known for the financial disaster it inadvertently became.

Discovered in 1810 by European explorer Capt. Frederick Hasselborough, Macquarie Island was uninhabited by humans. A vibrant ecosystem did exist, including native seabirds. These ground-nesting birds had evolved entirely removed from rats and mice, to find themselves uniquely vulnerable to these creatures. Each European ship brought more rodents to the island as two incredibly harmful invasive species.

This was the ruined state of Macquarie Island for decades. Appreciating the dark humor in the whole ordeal, Futurama satirizes these events by portraying a world wherein owls were bred to hunt rats, only to create an overpopulation of owls.

In the post-war era, new and exciting efforts were made to restore the island. These efforts failed at spectacular cost. Yet another series of projects began in 1985, which concluded in 2014.

At long last, these projects were successful. After 200 years of damage, and nearly as many years funding attempts to undo it, Macquarie Island has been returned to the state it was in just prior to its discovery in 1810.

Two centuries of investment, of time and effort. All of which could have been avoided had those original sailors taken care to prevent the spread of rats and mice. They cannot hold any blame, however, as they had no way of knowing the harm they would cause. Nor did they have any realistic way to keep out their rodent stowaways.

We must be careful not to treat Drew University Forest as the sailors treated Macquarie Island. The forest lies atop the Buried Valley Aquifer. Chatham Borough relies on the Buried Valley Aquifer for its water supply, while Chatham Township supplements its supply through the aquifer.

The Friends of Drew Forest, a nonprofit dedicated to preserving the Drew University Forest, estimates that the forest recharges the aquifer with roughly 71.5 million gallons of rainfall filtered through the foliage each year.

Basing my estimate on the utility water rate charged by Chatham Borough in 2024, Drew University Forest provides our community with about $537,200 in water a year. Outsourced water incurs additional costs not found from local supplies.

Drew University and the town of Madison are currently in talks for Madison to purchase and preserve the forest. Unfortunately, there are ongoing complications with the deal. The situation has been described as fluid. At present, it is unclear if the future holds preservation or pavement.

As the fate of the Drew University Forest is not yet decided, I urge you all to take a moment to consider the lesson of Macquarie Island.

It will always be cheaper to preserve our natural resources rather than repair them. The Drew University Forest is the natural capital for our community and the communities around us.

Go for a walk through the forest on the next warm day. When you arrive back home and fill a glass with water, take a moment to email the president of Drew University. Thank Madison’s mayor and council for what they have done so far.

Most of all, talk to your neighbors. Driving home from work last month, I saw a “Save Drew Forest” yard sign. My first thought, “What is Drew Forest?”